Hurricane Florence spins up into a Category 4 storm

Hurricane Florence is expected to hit the southeastern U.S.
as “a large and extremely dangerous hurricane,” the National
Hurricane Center says, after the storm quickly strengthened today. Although Florence is predicted to land north
of St Johns County, it will bring “life-threatening impacts” to North
Carolina and neighboring states late this week.

Florence is now a Category 4 storm, reaching that status a
day earlier than experts had predicted. The hurricane center announced the
change in an update to Historic City News, citing data from a NOAA Hurricane
Hunter aircraft that showed Florence was rapidly intensifying, with maximum
sustained winds near 130 mph.

“Life-threatening freshwater flooding is likely from a
prolonged and exceptionally heavy rainfall event, which may extend inland over
the Carolinas and Mid Atlantic for hundreds of miles as Florence is expected to
slow down as it approaches the coast and moves inland,” meteorologist Stu
Ostro of The Weather Channel reported via Twitter.

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As of 12:00 p.m. ET Monday, Florence was moving at 13 mph,
some 575 miles south-southeast of Bermuda the hurricane center said. Over the next 36 hours, Florence’s winds
could reach 150 mph, the hurricane center says. The storm is already 500 miles
wide — meaning a large area will be at risk when it nears land.

Florence is one of three hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean,
along with Helene and Isaac. Of the two other storms, which remain far from
land, Isaac poses the most immediate risk. With winds of 75 mph, it’s expected
to strengthen a bit before weakening as it approaches the Lesser Antilles on
Thursday and Friday.

The hurricane’s impacts could range from a strong storm
surge to flooding from torrential rainfall and hurricane-force winds.
Forecasters warn that the predicted track will likely change — but for now, it
shows the strong hurricane bearing down on the North Carolina coast, with a
potential landfall north of Wilmington.

Florence is currently projecting hurricane-force winds (74 mph and higher) up to 30 miles from its center. Forecasters say that because of the size the storm is expected to attain, it will wreak havoc regardless of how strong its winds are.

Once it makes landfall, Florence is predicted to stall and remain over North Carolina for at least 24 hours – increasing the threat of dangerous flooding, NHC director Ken Graham said on Monday.

Even in areas far from the coast, he added, parts of North Carolina and Virginia could see rain totals of 10-15 inches over the next seven days.